Are auto manufacturers introducing too many bells and whistles? It all depends on whom you ask, but clearly, the federal government says they're getting dangerously close to that point.

The U.S. DOT and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued distraction guidelines that encourage automobile manufacturers to limit the distraction risk connected to electronic devices built into their vehicles, such as communications, entertainment and navigation devices.

"Distracted driving is a deadly epidemic that has devastating consequences on our nation's roadways," said Secretary LaHood. "These guidelines recognize that today's drivers appreciate technology, while providing automakers with a way to balance the innovation consumers want with the safety we all need. Combined with good laws, good enforcement and good education, these guidelines can save lives."

The voluntary guidelines establish specific recommended criteria for electronic devices installed in vehicles at the time they are manufactured that require drivers to take their hands off the wheel or eyes of the road to use them.

The guidelines include recommendations to limit the time a driver must take his eyes off the road to perform any task to two seconds at a time and twelve seconds total. The guidelines also recommend disabling several operations unless the vehicle is stopped and in park, such as:Manual text entry for the purposes of text messaging and internet browsing;Video-based entertainment and communications like video phoning or video conferencing;Display of certain types of text, including text messages, web pages, social media content.

The study showed that visual-manual tasks associated with hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times.

"The new study strongly suggests that visual-manual tasks can degrade a driver's focus and increase the risk of getting into a crash up to three times," said David L. Strickland, NHTSA Administrator. "The new guidelines and our ongoing work with our state partners across the country will help us put an end to the dangerous practice of distracted driving by limiting the amount of time drivers take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and their attention away from the task of driving."

The study found text messaging, browsing, and dialing resulted in the longest duration of driver's taking their eyes-off-road. Text messaging increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by two times and resulted in the driver's eyes off the road for an average of 23.3 seconds total. Visual-manual activities performed when completing a phone call – such as reaching for a phone, looking up a contact and dialing the number – increased the risk by three times.

The study did not find a direct increased crash risk from the specific act of talking on a cell phone. However, the manual-visual interactions involved with using a hand-held phone made its overall use 1.73 times more risky, since the use of these devices involve visual-manual tasks 100 percent of the time.

Even portable hands-free and in-vehicle hands-free cell phone use was found to involve visual-manual tasks at least 50 percent of the time, which are associated with higher risk.

Keep it simple. No phones and no texting equals less risk for all of us.

oh, the old day, when we only had to worry about coffee between our knees, cigarette lighters and ashtrays and pressing the right button on the AM radio, assuming it wasn't after dusk when many stations had to go off the air.

It's about damned time. The automakers have been loading up their vehicles with all of these distractive devices that only mean more PROFIT for every gadget they can push on the consumer. A driver has one job and one job only; Pay full undivided attention to the road to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

Evryone's driving distracted these days. Everyone seems to think that their insignificant lives are SO SIGNIFICANT that they need to be doing other things besides concentrating on driving their 2 ton vehicle safely down the road. Here's a news flash: YOU'RE NOT THAT DAMN SIGNIFICANT!!!!!! Sorry for my language but I'm tired of distracted drivers putting my family's lives in danger.

If YOU ARE THAT SIGNIFICANT please find a designated driver or chauffeur.

It would be nice if "distracted" driving were treated the same as "drunken" driving - with the laws against "drinking and driving" having been in place for so long now, there are more "distracted" drivers then "drunken" drivers.

guidelines? ya right. as if more guidelines or traffic laws will help. it's kinda like gun laws that bho wants, more stupid laws won't help, enforce what is on the books now.

yesterday, i passed a vehicle on I-80 who was all over the lane/shoulder - nevermind her obama bumper stickers all over her vehicle, she was on her cell phone, smoking, pop bottle in the other hand (maybe driving with her knees?) and looking out the passenger window.